2018 Land Rover Range Rover Velar

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Introduced for 2018, Range Rover Velar follows a fresh design path and winds up as a stunning rendition of the authentic SUV. A sleek, gorgeous shape reveals a long hood, sloping roofline, and big open wheel arches. Its designer even omitted door handles, which might detract visually from the gracious body lines.

Gambling on uncommon beauty, inside and out, Land Rover hit a home run with Velar, creating a new benchmark in the luxury SUV category. Rugged, offroad-ready hardware, lets the new Velar live up to Land Rover heritage and its record of rough-country dominance.

A midsize luxury SUV, Velar is smaller than Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport but larger than the Evoque. It shares powertrains and a similar structure with the new Jaguar F-Pace.

Stepping up on the performance scale, a supercharged 3.0-liter V6 whips up 380 horsepower and 332 pound-feet. The supercharged V6 is paired with an adjustable, highly capable air suspension. The adjustable setup can raise or lower the Velar by as much as 3 inches, up to total ground clearance of 9.9 inches.

Land Rover also offers a turbodiesel four-cylinder option. Particularly adept off-road, the diesel generates 180 horsepower and a brawny 317 pound-feet of torque, available at low engine speeds. The fuel-efficient turbodiesel yields up to 30 mpg in highway driving.

Each engine mates with an 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Velars are rated to tow up to 5,500 pounds with a V6, or 5,200 pounds with the turbo four.

Range Rover offers five trim levels: standard, S, SE, HSE, and the limited-production First Edition. All three engines are available in S, SE, and HSE trim, but that standard version comes only with the gasoline four-cylinder and the First Edition is V6-only. Only 500 First Editions are to be built.

Exterior

Simply stunning, the Range Rover Velar sets a new benchmark for design of a modern SUV. Few would deny that it’s one of the best-looking SUVs; if not Number One.

Evolved from Jaguar’s F-Pace, the cleanly profiled Velar shies away from superfluous curves, omits door handles, and holds back on decoration. Up front, the hood seems unusually long. An uninterrupted character line extends back from the headlights.

Designers maintained a pinpoint focus on basic proportions. As a result, the Velar is the most aerodynamically efficient vehicle in Land Rover’s history.

Front seats promise comfort during the longest drives. Rear seats are reasonably comfortable for most riders, but short on legroom for taller passengers. With rear seatbacks upright, cargo volume totals 34.4 cubic feet, expanding to 70.1 cubic feet with those seats folded down.

Driving Impressions

All three engines supply sufficient power, though they’re not especially refined. The supercharged V6 propels the Velar to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, an impressive performance, but it doesn’t feel that swift.

Acceleration to 60 mph takes only a second longer with the gasoline turbo four, which doesn’t emit a confident note when pushed. Passing demands some planning ahead.

Despite abundant sound-deadening material, even the V6 doesn’t sound satisfying when accelerating hard. Picking the turbodiesel costs only $1,500 additional, though its economic value is most notable in long highway trips.